


but our lot crawls between dry ribs

by glaeson



Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-10
Updated: 2014-11-10
Packaged: 2018-02-24 19:57:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2594522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glaeson/pseuds/glaeson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's only been ten years since the last Grail War, and yet it feels like seven lifetimes since she's held Irisviel in her arms. </p>
<p>or</p>
<p>Saber meets Illyasviel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	but our lot crawls between dry ribs

**Author's Note:**

> so saber's reaction to illyasviel in the ubw series ruined me bye i wrote this during geometry class
> 
> read somewhere that saber didn't recognise illya bc 1.) saber didn't know illya's name and 2.) saber figured that illya would be older than how she appears so this happened
> 
> idk i took a lot of liberties with this e.g. dialogue pls don't hate me

All of the exhaustion in Saber's body dissipates in a second. At first, she thinks that her new Master must have replenished her—but she remembers that Shirou is inept at magic, and realises that it's because out of the corner of her eye, through the darkness, she spots crimson eyes and silver hair.

Her breath catches in her throat. It's only been ten years since the last Grail War, and yet it feels like seven lifetimes since she's held Irisviel in her arms.

She clings on the hope that those are her eyes, that it's her hair, that Kiritsugu had found a way to revive her, or maybe even the Einzberns have; but in the deepest crevice of her heart she knows it's nothing but wishful thinking.

The figure steps out of the shadows, revealing herself and her Servant—a Beserker, a _Beserker_ —but she can't pay attention to the enemy she's about to face, because its Master is _Irisviel_ ; it's her face, her eyes, her slight smile that seems to never leave her.

But she isn't Irisviel.

Beserker's Master is a child. She can't be any older than ten years old, Saber muses. She infers that it may be Irisviel's child, perhaps; the one who was playing in the woods with Kiritsugu while Saber had first spoken with Iri.

Impossible. Irisviel's child must be a young woman now.

The child starts speaking, and Saber can't bring herself to listen, eons upon eons of pain piercing her heart. But the child introduces herself, says her name, and pride is the only thing that keeps Saber from falling to her knees.

“Illyasviel von Einzbern.”

Saber clenches her jaw. Ilyasviel must be another homunculus, then; another vessel for the Grail. The Einzberns must have named her after Iri, some sick detail they added, as if they were presenting her as Irisviel the Second.

Saber senses Shirou's fear, and she can tell that her Master's being paralyzed by it; his novelty to the war leaving him unsure of what to do in their predicament.

“I'll handle this,” Saber says, placing her hand over the sheath of her sword.

When she battles Beserker, the Grail isn't her motive to defeat him.


End file.
